The Benedict Option in 43 Propositions

I’m working on a review of Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, which seems to be all the rage right now—whether you love it or hate it. While I have no great beef with most of Dreher’s arguments or suggestions, I also can’t see quite what the big fuss is about. You will probably see what I mean from the following list of 43 (or 47, depending on how you count) concrete proposals that I distilled from the book as an initial note-taking exercise:

helpful summary, brad. however, in in your opening assessment, are you saying that you don’t think this book adds anything to the academic discussion in Christian political theory/ethics/etc.? Or are you saying that you think the average american christian already knows all these points you’ve listed? I would agree with the former but strongly disagree with the latter assessment. In fact, i think that if the average “megachurch pastor” preached the points you summarize under “work”…they would be called “anti-capitalist” and accused of trying to make the wealthy feel guilty.

Maybe I would feel differently if I had my own kids but the only points I disagree with are in regards to education. I work in public education and I still think it’s parents’ responsibility to form their kids primarily but private and homeschooling are inaccessible to a good chunk of people. I believe being investors in public schools as well as communication with your kids about what they are learning and encountering is also a valid option.

Many reviews have been critical of what they see as retreat rather than engagement with the world or they reject the portion about sexuality. I’ll read for myself eventually.

Brad Littlejohn

About
I serve as President of The Davenant Institute, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Theory at Patrick Henry College, and my research interests include Christian political theology and ethics—particular in areas of law and economics—and historical theology, with a focus on Reformation studies and the thought of English reformer Richard Hooker.
Email me at w.b.littlejohn@gmail.com.

Publications The Peril and Promise of Christian Liberty: Richard Hooker, the Puritans, and Protestant Political Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017.

The Two Kingdoms: A Guide for the Perplexed Republic. Moscow, ID: Davenant Institute, 2017.